Russian smuggler tries to sell piece of wood for 16 thousand - turns out to be mammoth tusk
In Kaunas, a Russian is on trial who attempted to ship a mammoth tusk to Switzerland, claiming it was petrified wood.
While we in Liepāja are delighted by the Karosta cultural space with its artworks, in Kaunas a story worthy of a real paleontologist thriller has unfolded. Russian citizen N. I. decided he was clever enough to sell customs officials a mammoth tusk as petrified wood.
Yes, you heard correctly. The man packaged a mammoth tusk worth 16 thousand euros and claimed he was shipping a piece of wood for 3,250 euros. Apparently he hadn't heard that customs officers aren't as stupid as they seem. As one Liepāja market vendor said: "Here too people sometimes try to sell old boards as antiques, but mammoth tusks as wood — that's a whole other level."
It turns out the difference between a mammoth tusk and wood is considerably greater than between Liepāja and Riga trams — at least ours actually run. Customs control at Kaunas airport quickly discovered this "paleontological marvel," and now the smuggler faces prosecution.
In Liepāja we're used to oddities — especially when mysterious objects are found in Karosta, but mammoth tusk smuggling still exceeds even our imagination. Maybe this Russian should have just come to Liepāja market — there for 16 thousand you could buy a whole mammoth family, if one were available.
⚠️ Satirical article. Facts are preserved, but the presentation is humorous. For accurate information, please refer to the original source.